No Light Without Darkness
by alphakkc
Summary: Adventures of a Demon Hunter and a Wizard in Sanctuary. Set in the time period between Diablo II and Diablo III.


As Ginny ends her conversation with that treasure hunter, she slides her hood back on shielding her face off the harsh sunlight of the dessert, her conversation with him wasn't encouraging, rumors are that many that went in there to find treasures in this rare cave lost their lives, this cave itself is something of a rare occurrence, opening once every 100 years, but what Ginny was looking for in there isn't the riches of the treasure, what she wants are the death of the demon spawns lurking in there. After dispatching a shadow raven off to notify her fellow demon hunters about her journey, she gave a slight sigh before dipping herself into the darkness of the cave.

As she step into the darkness, the sight and stench of rotting carcasses was strewn everywhere, she doesn't seems perturbed by this, such was a normal scene for people like her, as she scans the surroundings, she walked towards a body that looked rather fresh.

"Hmm…looks at least 3 days old before he died", as she feel the wound marks around the corpse with her dark gloved hands.

"A lacuni's blade wound, interesting…", her mind wandered off a bit, her past experiences with lacuni's weren't pleasant, her thoughts of Jostlin started rushing back, she snapped out of it. "Focus, Ginny"! As she stood, her eyes fell on some fresh footprints in the thickening dust, she spotted a trail leading up towards the depths of this hell hole. "Looks like they left their meal half done, bold enough not to cover their tracks as the hunters…", flipping out her concealed crossbow, she loaded a bolt, tip shimmering with a rune inscribed on it. "This time I'll be the hunter and you shall be my prey lacuni"!

Cassie watched as the female Demon Hunter disappeared into the cave. So she was not the first one to find this cave of legends. It matters not. Demon hunters crave for nothing but the destruction of demons and their kinds.

'All the better for me,' Cassie thought. She would let the demon hunter clear the path ahead of her. That would make the journey that much easier. Stories of untold wealth and treasures that await anyone daring enough to venture into the caves have been repeated so many times that they have taken on a life of their own. Cassie is sure that she herself and the demon hunter will not be the only ones to visit the cave. Her only hope is that there's enough to satisfy everyone inside those tunnels. She came not for the gold nor gems. She came here seeking the knowledge of the ancients. Tomes of the arcane arts to be precise.

As she made her way into the cave, Cassie could not help but notice that the demon hunter looked curvy despite the armor she was wearing. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as a tingling sensation shot down Cassie's spine as she allowed herself a moment of indulgence into imagining how the demon hunter would look like without her armor on. As the mental picture flashed through her mind, Cassie made a conscious effort to push it to the back of her mind.

'Business first. Pleasure later,' she reminded herself as she fished out her magical source and invoked a spell to make it glow so as to light her way into the dark tunnels.

Walking into the a wide opening of what looks like a hall carved out of the caves wall, some areas are filled with what looks like rooms carved up to several floors with balconies facing the main route, that was not all, the routes were designed somehow as a maze, Ginny scan's the surroundings again, an ancient and familiar magic seems to be drifting in the air ever since she came in, perplexed that she couldn't figure what it was, she shifted her attention and trailed magical trail first instead.

The cave itself doesn't seems too natural to her, most of the walls are well carved out and filled with ornaments which seems to depict ages when the necromancers were at their golden age, a slight realization came to her, but it was too late.

The flesh of the corpses started to burn around her, leaving the entire room filled with the stench of burnt rotting flesh, her worries weren't the fact that the corpses were burning, the skeletons remains of the corpses started reanimating, picking up their old weapons and shields, some brandishing bows, "Blood magic"! Ginny screamed. In an instant, she vaulted back and shot 2 bolts which found its target in between of the group of skeleton warriors and archers, a huge explosion erupted, rocking the entire cave, decimating all the skeleton that was raised.

She stood up, "Necromancer, show yourself"! Ginny shouted. A slow long laughter was heard right above the 2nd floor of the cave. Looking up, what she saw was beyond her imagination. Standing there was a tall man, clad in black steel, his white hair short and pale in comparison to his armor, his hands holding what looked like a mace with a burning skull which dimly lit his surroundings. Ginny has always thought they were extinct, the only necromancer she has ever known or found was only in stories & lore's from her master, and she is staring right now at one.

"Oh young one, that was quite a feat for you to track me down in parts of our domain so easily, I'd thought you were a demon if I hadn't have a splendid show of how you move your slender body like an assassin, you remind me of someone I used to know, or are you a succubus"? As the Necromancer looked at her, he couldn't resist feasting his hungry eyes on the slender body & thigh of this intriguing lady, her long flowing black hair pulled back showing her tender neck and her lips as red as the blood he uses every day, he wasn't even bothered to hide where his eyes go.

It wasn't long after entering the cave that Cassie realized that the cave was in fact man-made. Ancient architectural methods long lost to the passing of time. She raised her magical source high and risked a little more light. The pale blue glow filled the chamber and she marveled at the beauty of the place.

Her awe of the place was suddenly interrupted when she felt the presence of another magic user. Stopped dead in her tracks, Cassie concentrated. The presence was masked. Whoever it was, this magic user is no novice and Cassie was sure that it wasn't the demon hunter.

'Necromancy!' Cassie suddenly realized. That form of magic had long lost favor among the current users. Like herself, new generations of magic users preferred elemental magic. This is an ancient art and the fact that the user could mask his presence shows that the user was more than adept at this.

Cassie immediately invoked another spell that increased her movement speed and homed in onto the source of the necromancy. As she sped through the corridors and chambers, a small smile formed on her lips. Battling another magic user will be most interesting. As Cassie neared the source of the magic, an explosion rocked the whole cavernous structure. Battle has been joined. No doubt it was the demon hunter.

The smile on Cassie's lips widened. Things just got a whole lot more interesting. Would she be forced to choose sides or would she be battling both combatants? As she neared a huge doorway, she could see the demon hunter standing inside a huge multi-story chamber gazing at something on one of the upper floors. Cassie also caught the tail end of the conversation, "..or are you a succubus?"

Cassie stopped a few steps into the chambers and finally saw the necromancer on the second level. She knew very well that by now both the necromancer and the demon hunter were already aware of her presence. A quick scan and a few deliberate steps later, Cassie had positioned herself so that she was facing both of them and can monitor both of their movements with ease.

"Typical of a male chauvinist," Cassie announced, directing her remarks at the necromancer. "Always starting the party without me!" As Cassie finished her sentence, she quickly unleashed an arcane bolt in the direction of the necromancer. The purple energy bolt was already halfway across the chambers and accelerating quickly towards its target. Cassie hoped that the bolt would catch the necromancer by surprise.

"What a hot headed brat", the necromancer thought, casting a quick spell on his dark skeletal shield. He deflected the arcane bolts away, dropped his mace by his side and drew a sacrificial dagger, "Such novice magic won't stop me brat!" the necromancer laughed as he cut a wound on his shield arm to draw blood for a spell. Before he could finish, Ginny drew out a second crossbow aiming at both the necromancer and the newcomer. "I would suggest both of you to stop your duels here, my patience is short" Ginny warned. She wasn't too keen to be in between a magic duels. The newcomer is a familiar sight to her. Wizards were known to be native to Caldeum. This one looks really young for one, but she wouldn't underestimate any wizard considering how their reputation were.

Cassie was taken aback when the arcane bolt was so easily deflected away by the necromancer. Truly this was one formidable adversary. Cassie knew immediately that pitting her skills against this necromancer would only result in her own defeat. Her mind raced to find another solution.

"I would suggest both of you to stop your duels here, my patience is short!" were the words coming from the demon hunter, crossbows raised and ready to fire.

Cassie was even more surprised to see the necromancer stopping his spell at this comment. This character was so unlike those she had heard in countless stories. Necromancers are supposed to be evil and hell bent on destruction. Well, supposed was the key word here.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit from two guests? Both of you owe me some explanation considering this is MY domain, I don't take trespassers lightly," the necromancer asked.

Cassie saw her chance. Quickly teleporting to the demon hunter's side, Cassie hugged her tight, completely taking the demon hunter by surprise. "I'm her guardian!" she announced cheekily. Cassie could feel the cold metal armor pressing hard against her bosom, her own thick silk robes barely offering any cushion against the metal mesh.

"What?!" the demon hunter protested, completely unable to respond in any coherent manner. "I do not know who you are at all! This isn't a game!"

Mentally reciting a spell, Cassie quickly linked her mind with the demon hunter's so that they could communicate telepathically. "Stop protesting!" Cassie mentally urged the demon hunter.

"This necromancer is way more skillful than I have expected," Cassie continued telepathically. "If you do not play along, we will be dead in a short while! He is way above both you and I. If we are to take him, the only chance is to work together!"

Feeling that the demon hunter's resistance began to wane, Cassie released her hold on her. Out loud she spoke, "Oh! Come on, milady! You cannot still be angry at me for what happened last night, can you?"

The demon hunter looked confused but quickly played along, "You are quite right! I am still angry!"

Cassie let go of a breath she did not realized she was holding, relieved that the demon hunter is playing along. Putting on her best smile, she turned towards the necromancer who looks irritated.

"Oh! Please pardon our intrusion," Cassie said in as sweet a voice as she could muster. "You see, my lady here is chasing some demons and we were led into this cave. We got separated and when I heard the explosion, I feared the worst. It's an honest mistake!"

"What nonsense!" the necromancer replied haughtily. "There're no demons here.."

No sooner had the words left the necromancer's mouth, a blood curdling roar echoed through the chamber. A split second later half a dozen lacunis led by a huge dual-blade wielding leader broke into the chamber, hungry for blood. Fireballs started to rain down on Cassie and the demon hunter.

Cassie quickly turned and threw herself at the demon hunter and embraced her tightly again as a semi-transparent dome appeared over them. She had cast a slow-time spell. The raining fireball slowed and she was able to drag the demon hunter out of harm's way.

Cassie released the demon hunter and their eyes met for a moment. Cassie winked and flashed her a quick smile. Telepathically she commented to the demon hunter, "You smell really nice! But let's get rid of these beasts first, all right?"

With that she turned towards the nearest lacuni and released a couple of quick arcane bolts.

Ginny wasn't too sure about the new outcome of the situation, regardless of what it will be later on, matters on hand is too dire to ignore, the amount of lacuni's that ambushed them are small, but they are still dangerous if she's careless. As Cassie jumped into the fray firing arcane bolts at the pack, she vanished and repositioned herself to the pillared walkways and started firing bolts at the pack hoping to split the pack, easing Cassie to find her way into the pack.

Noticing Ginny's strategy, Cassie went head on to the centre of the pack and casted a freezing spell, within the pack a shimmering blue explosion erupted and snowflakes drifted around, half the packs were frozen. Cassie grinned, her second spell summoned a wormhole on the ceiling, and large chunks of sharp icicles started dropping down from it, shattering all the frozen lacuni's around her. As Ginny kite the rest of the pack she thought;"she isn't just cute after all", she took a double take as to why did she even think she is cute.

As the battle in the necropolis rages on, the necromancer drew blood and casted a spell, his mace shimmered brightly and smoke rose from its sockets, what materialized from the smoke somewhat appears to be a golem, with another incantation, the golem's skin burst and engulfed itself in flames, a fire golem was conjured, the necromancer was troubled, there shouldn't be any Lacuni's in his necropolis, "this will not end well for you intruders", he whispered. In an instant, the fire golem vanished from the top floor, appearing right in front of the lacuni warriors and a stream of mighty punches from it finds its mark on the leader.

Seeing its leader fallen with the appearance of a stronger foe, the lacuni's fled screeching. Cassie was rather relieved, she knows the necromancer was strong, but his spells were beyond her imagination, she didn't expect this battle to end so fast even with her confidence on her own spell.

As suddenly as they appeared, the lacunis disappeared. Cassie took a quick look around and found that the huge lacuni leader had fallen. Standing over it was the equally huge fire golem that had started to crumble away as the magic that summoned it dissipated.

Truly, this necromancer was not to be trifled with. Quickly snapping out of it, Cassie spoke to the necromancer.

"See? Those wretched beasts are what drew us in here. We truly did not mean to intrude," Cassie built upon her first lie.

The necromancer seemed unconvinced but she could see that his hostility towards them drop a notch. The demon hunter now stepped out of the shadows which hid her well.

"Truly it was those lacunis that I was after," the demon hunter spoke. It was not a lie after all. It just wasn't the whole truth.

"Very well then," the necromancer finally said. "I shall pardon your insolence for this time but it intrigues me that even lowly lacunis dared to encroach upon my domain. What has happened in the world outside? Might I have slumbered too long and not aware of events that I should be concerned about?"

Cassie made her way to stand beside the demon hunter. One has to keep up appearances after all if one wishes to keep the deceit going.

"Oh, you truly did not know?" Cassie asked when she heard the necromancer's question. "Well, I'm a bit vague on the details but word has it that a lord of the burning hells is now walking the very surface of Sanctuary as we speak. We know not of their design but it is fact that all kinds of beasts have been corrupted and now wreaks havoc where ever they can be found."

"Really?" the necromancer asked in surprise.

"Yes," Cassie answered. "We will be taking our leave now. Please accept our apology for the intrusion. We will bother you no more," Cassie added and quietly took the demon hunter's hand to start leading her away.

"If I may just have one request before you leave," the necromancer said, his voice laced with threat. "Would you be so kind as to stay for dinner and tell me about this latest development? I am most interested in it. It has been long since I have had guests and even longer still when it comes to guests as attractive as you both."

Cassie stopped dead in her tracks. The threat was clear. They are not just going to walk away from this. She had started the lie and it would not be fair to drag the demon hunter into all this.

"Why I would be glad to tell you all I know," Cassie spoke before the demon hunter can say anything and spell doom for both of them. "But please excuse milady. She has other urgent matters to attend to. Isn't that right, milady? I shall meet you back in Caldeum after dinner," Cassie said, turning to the demon hunter. Cassie looked straight at the demon hunter, pleading with her to go now before it's too late using her eyes.

"So it's highly possible that Belial, the Lord of Lies is somehow having a hold over the palace in Caldeum," Cassie informed her host. For the past half hour, she has been sitting uneasily across the table from the necromancer who had inexplicably prepared a lavish dinner spread for them.

"Is that so?" Lord Drakken the necromancer replied.

"That's the perception out there," Cassie said, trying to avoid Drakken's gaze. She knows that he's paying scant attention to their conversation. He's has been eyeing her the moment they had stepped into the room.

Cassie had barely eaten and now that she feels that enough time had passed to avoid a seemingly hasty retreat, she made her attempt to leave. "Well, it has been a splendid dinner," she said forcing a smile. "I really should be going now."

"Why the hurry?" Lord Drakken asked, his tone teasing. "You haven't even had dessert yet."

"No, I really can't," Cassie politely declined and stood up from the table to leave. "I really must be going.."

"Oh, but you must stay for dessert," Drakken insisted, cutting Cassie off. "I insist!"

Cassie felt her legs grow weak. She fell back into her chair. The necromancer's spell is strong. Cassie concentrated and summoning her reserves, stood again and managed a few steps away from the table. "I'm sorry..but I must take my leave.." she said, every word seemingly needing a lot of strength. She made a beeline towards the door out of the large dining chamber.

"Don't you know it's rude to abruptly leave the dining table?" the necromancer teased again and got up. "Especially when your host is not done savouring the meal yet."

Cassie made no attempt to reply. She needed to get out of the room fast. She willed her feet to keep moving despite the weakness that she felt. A few more steps and she stumbled. Then disorientation came over her. She could not even find where the door was. She then heard footsteps closing in.

Drakken walked slowly towards his prey. She could barely stand. He smiled wickedly. His weakening and confusion spells were a lethal combo. Few had ever escaped from them. "Do you really think that I would just let the most delicious bite walk off my plate?" he gloated and let off a maniacal laugh.

Cassie felt the necromancer closing. She focused hard on keeping her mind clear. When she felt the necromancer right beside her, she unleashed her force wave spell. The blast of energy radiated from her and pushed everything away with deadly force. The necromancer was taken by surprised and barely had time to erect his bone armor to shield himself. Although the blast did not physically harm him, the force had thrown him dozens of feet away from his prey.

As the force wave dissipated, Cassie felt her mind clearing. Her ploy worked. She had broken the necromancer's spells and pushed him some distance away. Quickly getting her bearings as well as onto her feet, Cassie made a dash towards the exit. The doorway neared. Cassie's hopes began to rise. She just might make it. Just as she was about to dash out, suddenly the ground broke and bones sprang forth. The bones quickly ensnared her and at once she felt her energy draining away. The bones now bound both her arms and legs like chains. She could not move.

"Not that easy!" Drakken taunted while laughing and started to walk towards his prey again. This time Cassie was too drained of energy to attempt any more tricks. Drakken stopped right in front of her and grasped her neck in his hand and lifted her head to face him.

"Generations of magical slumber does unpredictable things even to a necromancer like myself," he gloated. "It has whetted my appetite and taste for a female. And you, my dear, is as delicious as they come!" Drakken said sinisterly as he put both his hands on her shoulders, taking a hold of her robe. Just as he was about to rip the clothes off, a crossbow bolt shot past and hit the ground just inches away from Drakken's foot. The bolt crackled menacingly with electricity.

"The next one goes straight through your head if you don't step away from the wizard!" a voice echoed around the chamber, its point of origin unknown.

"Ginny!" Cassie thought as she felt Drakken's hands releasing his hold on her robe. Still she was too weak to do anything but feel a bit relieved. Drakken looked up and around the chambers as he backed away from Cassie. The demon hunter had concealed herself well. He could not immediately locate her.

"Well, well, well," Drakken said, still trying to find out where the demon hunter was. "Another morsel has offered herself to me."

"That remains to be seen," came Ginny's cold reply, whose voice now seems to come from a different location from the first statement.

Drakken slowly paced the chamber, searching. "The shadows won't hide you for long huntress," Drakken sneered. Just as the words left his mouth, he suddenly lurched to one side and his hand shot out and grabbed something. Ginny was caught with her neck in the necromancer's grip. He lifted her several inches off the ground.

"Hahahaha! What did I tell you?" Drakken laughed. "You should not mess with a necromancer like me!"

"Well, you should also know that you should not be in such close contact with a demon hunter!" Ginny retorted amidst gasps and Cassie saw a sudden metallic flash around Ginny's torso. The demon hunter had unleashed a fan of blades around her. Drakken howled in pain as a blade sliced into his hand that had been holding Ginny. He released his grip. Although the blades could not penetrate Drakken's body armour, it made him lose his grip on Ginny and that was all she needed.

Ginny quickly vaulted over the necromancer, putting herself between him and Cassie and just as quickly she hurled 3 grenades towards Drakken. That made the necromancer jump backwards to avoid the blast. The explosion also raised a thick smoke screen between them.

Without missing a beat, Ginny ran towards Cassie, unsheathed her short sword and hacked the chains of bones away. Once the chains were severed, Cassie could feel her strength returning but she was still too weak to run immediately.

"C'mon Cassie!" Ginny urged. "We need to get out of here! The smoke won't last long!" she said, propping Cassie's arms across her shoulders and lifting her up to her feet.

Drakken's laugh reverberated across the chambers and to the two ladies' horror a huge fiery golem emerged right from the ground at the doorway, blocking their path to freedom. The whole monstrous being was aflame and they could feel the heat from it bearing down at them.

The golem roared, shaking the very walls and ground with its intensity. Ginny turned around to look. Her smoke screen is thinning rapidly. She had no doubt that Drakken would emerge from the smoke at any moment.

"Damn! What do we do now?" Ginny wondered aloud rather than really asking the question. Their situation was bad and rapidly deteriorating.

"Run towards the door!" Cassie said weakly.

"What?! Are you crazy? We can't take that golem down!" Ginny objected.

"She's right you know," came Drakken's voice through the thinning smoke. Soon he will be right in front of them.

"Trust me!" Cassie said. "And stall Drakken! We have only one shot at this!"

With options fast running out, Ginny had no choice but to go with the plan, suicidal as it may seem. "I hope you know what you're doing!" Ginny said. She quickly recited a chant that unleashed a stampede of shadow beasts towards Drakken voice. That will buy them a few precious seconds.

Ginny then led Cassie towards the door at a dead run, trying hard to ignore the fact that a flaming golem was in their way. Cassie recited a spell and held out her hand towards the golem. A freeze ray shot from her palm and hit one of the golem's knees. Cassie put all her mana into her spell, increasing the cold blast exponentially. The blast froze a small part of the giant golem's knee.

"Shoot at the knee now!" Cassie shouted. Ginny responded by whipping her single handed crossbow out and taking aim. She understood Cassie's plan and they literally have only one shot at it. Steadying her aim as best she can, she fired the bolt along with a muttered prayer.

The bolt flew out and rocketed towards its target. Time seemed to slow. The golem lifted its fiery sword over its head and was about to strike at the 2 figure running towards it. One of its knees was frozen but it could still move pretty well.

The bolt connected with its target and exploded. The frozen knee shattered, effectively breaking the leg into two and the golem found itself tumbling. Desperately trying to find balance, the golem abandoned its targets. Ginny and Cassie literally ran between the golem's legs as it crashed heavily to the ground behind them. The mass of fire and rock now became a barrier that blocked the doorway as Ginny and Cassie ran through. Their plan succeeded but there was no time to celebrate. The two continued to flee until they were safely out of the cave. They did not stop until the cave was out of sight. Then Cassie collapsed. Her energy all spent.

"You came back," Cassie managed weakly as Ginny grabbed her in time to stop her from crashing to the ground.

"Couldn't just leave you to that monster back there," Ginny replied. All Cassie could manage was a weak smile before blacking out.

Cassie slowly opened her eyes. Soft light filled her sight. As she allowed her eyes to adjust, she felt the softness beneath her. A bed. Slowly she saw the roof over the bed. It was wooden and in fine condition. She must be at a tavern, she surmised. It was bright outside the window. The white translucent curtains drawn across the window filtered the sun and the room was awashed with the soft light.

How long had she been unconscious, she wondered. And how did she get here? She let her eyes wander around the room. It was a large room and quite lavishly furnished. Straight across from the foot of the bed was the window. To her left was a dresser with a mirror. Next to the dresser was a door. It was closed. To her right, against the wall was a large wardrobe. Next to the wardrobe was another door, also closed.

The bed itself was large and there was only one bed in the room. As she surveyed her surroundings a faint familiar smell caught her attention. With her mind still a little groggy, Cassie was unable to place her finger on it. As the scent carries no hint of danger or threat, she decided to let it slide for now. As she tried to stretch, Cassie felt the silky sheets on her skin. That was when she realized that she was actually naked. The thought jolted her to a sitting position. As the sheets slipped off her smooth skin, she quickly gathered it around her bosom and held it close.

"What the hell happened here?" she thought, a little panicky. She ran one hand over her head and felt her long hair loose against her bare shoulders and back. Someone had undressed her. With her anxiety mounting, she took a quick look under the sheets. There were no injuries. No sign of any attack. Her eyes raced across the room, searching but her clothes were nowhere in sight. As Cassie was trying to make sense of her surrounding and condition, the door next to the dresser opened.

A woman with pale skin in black, tight figure hugging undergarments walked into the room. She had a towel around her neck and her shoulder length black hair was wet. Just as Cassie was about to ask who the hell she was, the woman saw her sitting up and said; "Oh, so you're finally up. I was wondering how long you'll be out." She then casually sat herself on the dresser and proceeded to dry her hair with the towel.

Cassie blinked and stared at this woman silently. Somehow her voice was familiar. She was slender, athletically built and curvaceous. It took a while but finally Cassie's mind started to register the voice and the smell.

"Ginny?" she ventured hesitantly.

The woman turned to look at her with a puzzled look. "What?" she replied. "You don't recognize me? And to think I had to drag you all the way here from where you passed out," she continued on with an annoyed tone of voice.

Cassie blinked some more. "Well, to be honest you looked kinda different without your armor," Cassie admitted. "Uhmmm... I am naked..." Cassie said slowly.

"Your clothes are in the wardrobe," Ginny replied nonchalantly, still drying her hair. "You're quite heavy for your size you know. I nearly gave up and just let you drown in the tub."

"You mean you bathed me?!" Cassie asked shocked. "While I was out cold?!"

"No. I just let the men in the tavern have their fun with you," Ginny replied in jest. When she heard no reply coming back, she turned to face Cassie and found her sitting there with her mouth hanging open staring blankly back at her. "Oh, for heaven's sake! Of course I bathed you! Couldn't let you on the same bed with me with all those awful smells on you, now could I?"

Cassie's mouth dropped open wider. Ginny didn't think it was possible. Cassie turned to the empty space beside her on the bed and then back to Ginny. The look of shock still on her face.

"You mean we slept together?!" Cassie asked incredulously.

"Well, there's only one bed," Ginny replied and headed over to the wardrobe to get dressed. "Get over it. It's not like you were a good bedfellow anyway. You were out cold for 2 days straight!"

"You... me.." Cassie stammered, her face all red from blushing and embarrassment.

Ginny sighed. She grabbed Cassie's robe from the wardrobe and threw in onto the bed. She finished dressing and walked towards the other door. Just as she was about to open it she turned to Cassie and said slowly, "Nothing happened, ok?"

With that she opened the door, walked out and closed it behind her.

"So this is the rainforests of Kehjistan," Cassie remarked as they rode into the greening landscape. She could see trees in the distance and forests even further on the horizon. It was a marked change from the deserts around Caldeum. The sands had slowly changed to a savannah and now they are riding into what can be called a steppe as they leave Caldeum further and further behind. It had been almost a week since they had left the tavern in Caldeum.

"Yes," Ginny replied. "The rainforests of Kehjistan are a real change from Caldeum. You've never been here?"

"No. Or rather I should say that I have no memories of it," Cassie remarked. "My mother was from Kurast but she left Kehjistan soon after my birth. She traveled north and we finally settled in with the mages of Xiansai. That's where I learned the arcane arts. She rarely talks about her past. She always had this sad look on her face when asked about her past or when someone mentioned Kurast. She never really told me what happened. Even when she was at her deathbed she would not reveal what actually happened there in Kurast."

"Oh? Sorry to hear about that," Ginny said as they rode slowly through the greenery.

"She gave me part of a broken gemstone," Cassie said and reached inside her pouch to fish out the artifact in question. It was a simple locket with a gem set into it. The stone had broken and almost half of it was gone. "She said that should the gem glow, it would mean that the other half is nearby and that I should kill whoever possesses the other half."

"Why is that?" Ginny asked intrigued.

"She said that whoever has the other half would be my father's murderer," Cassie said.

"Really?" Ginny remarked.

"I dunno. Mom was the only family I had. I have never seen it glow anyway," Cassie said.

The two women had grown close ever since they have escaped the cave of the necromancer. Cassie is becoming very fond of Ginny. She had decided to tag along when Ginny got word from her council to head to Kurast for a mission. Ginny had been reluctant initially but she relented when Cassie followed her anyway. Cassie's excuse was that she had to repay Ginny for saving her from the necromancer.

"Enough about me," Cassie said. "What about you? What about this Radvorris character that we are supposed to meet?"

"He is my mentor," Ginny said. "I learnt all I know from him. He taught me how to be a demon hunter."

"Is it true that all demon hunters have a tragic past?" Cassie asked.

"Yes. We are taught to harness the hatred we feel inside and channel it as energy when we fight," Ginny said. "I am from Kehjistan too. From a village on the outskirts of Kurast. That village was destroyed by demons. They took everything away. My family. My home. If it wasn't for Radvorris, I'd perished along with the others."

"It must be hard," Cassie said.

"It is what fuels me. It is what gives me the strength to fight but sometimes I wished that I'd perished like all the others."

After that statement, the pair travelled in silence. They rode on until dusk fell. It was nearly time to stop for the night when they saw a small village on the horizon.

"We should head there and stop for the night," Cassie suggested and turned her horse towards the village. Ginny merely followed. As they closed in they felt that something was amiss. Suddenly Ginny stopped her horse. She sat up. Alert. Cassie quickly halted her horse.

"What's wrong?" Cassie asked.

"Blood. There's a smell of blood in the air," Ginny replied tersely.

After a brief moment of indecision, Cassie saw Ginny's horse dart part. As if on cue, she followed suit. They reached the edge of the village and dismounted. Ginny had already drawn her crossbow as she walked cautiously into the village. It was quiet. There were no sounds coming from the village. No footsteps on worn paths. No chattering of the people. No banging of tools from any workshops. Just deathly silence.

Cassie readied her magical source. Ginny was right. The air had a thick stench of blood. Just as they rounded the buildings that line the outer perimeter of the village they saw the source of the stench. There was blood everywhere. On the ground. On the walls and everywhere that it could get. On railings and rooftops. Cassie had to pull her scarf up to cover her mouth and nose. She had to work hard to quell the nausea that was threatening to erupt from her stomach. Corpses and body parts were everywhere. Broken and maimed. It looked like the whole village got slaughtered. Nothing was spared. Not even the dogs nor the chickens that were kept were spared. The village's central square seemed to be the core of the slaughter. The whole area was drenched in blood. Cassie could not make herself to move any closer.

"It's the same!" Ginny's voice suddenly broke through the eerie silence.

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked.

"This is the same thing that happened to my village all those years ago!" she muttered through clenched teeth. Cassie could see the anger and hatred boiling over inside Ginny. She quickly surveyed the area and then headed to a wall that had some insignia scrawled upon it in blood. She stood there for a moment staring at the insignia and then she raised her left hand and looked briefly at her palm. She then clenched her hand into a fist and moved away. In that brief moment, Cassie could see that Ginny had a scar on her left palm that matched the insignia on the wall.

Ginny moved quickly through the village. She was furiously searching for something. A trail. A trail that led out of the village. A trail presumably left by those who were responsible for the massacre.

"The trail is still fresh!" Ginny announced. "Not more than a couple of hours old! They could not have gotten far!" With that Ginny raced back to her horse, mounted and gave pursuit, leaving Cassie still standing in the village.

"Hey!" Cassie yelled out in confusion. "Wait for me..." but it was already too late. Ginny had disappeared into the trees of the forest just outside the doomed village.

With a resigned sigh, Cassie made her way back to her horse. The sun had already set. As she neared her mount, the horse neighed nervously and trotted restlessly to and fro, tugging at her reins that was tied to a post. Cassie halted and raised her alertness level. She could hear a menacing chatter coming from all around her. She channeled her energy into her magical source and it began to glow. The light from it reflected off more than a dozen pair of eyes that now surrounded her.

"Scavengers!" Cassie recognized the infernal creatures that are now closing in, attracted by the blood. Then without warning, some of the creatures lurched forward and leapt at her, razor sharp claws extended and ready to tear into her face.

Cassie ducked, narrowly missing the nearest scavenger as it clawed at the empty space where her head been just a split second ago. Finishing her chant, Cassie released a nova frost blast that instantly froze the attacking scavengers in mid air. Immediately following that blast, Cassie unleashed a force wave that shattered the frozen beasts into tiny bits.

The retaliatory strike from Cassie paused the scavengers' attack long enough for her to mount her horse. Now after re-grouping, the scavengers formed a line in front of her horse, hissing menacingly. Cassie took out her wand and pointed it at the ground right in front of the group. An arc of blue energy snaked from the wand, hitting the dirt and scattered across the ground, electrocuting any beasts caught in its path. All the scavengers caught by the electric bolt were instantly fried to crisp. Those that were lucky enough to escape quickly burrowed underground. Cassie raced her horse through the opening she had created and bolted after Ginny. She holstered her wand and did not bother to look back. She knew that the scavengers will not be pursuing when they could easily feast on the corpses that lay about.

Ginny raced through the forest as fast as her horse could carry her. Even as night fell, she could still follow the trail with ease. Soon the trees thinned out and she came to a clearing. A few kilometers in front of her was a crumbling tower. That was her destination. As Ginny was about to push her horse harder, she saw a figure on the ground. It was another demon hunter and he was not moving. Ginny halted and got off. She ran towards the figure lying face down on the ground.

As she neared, she could see that this demon hunter was hurt bad. He was bleeding and the blood had already pooled around his body. She knelt beside him and gently turned him over.

"Duerre!" she gasped in recognition at the face. "Who did this to you?"

Blood was coming out from Duerre's mouth. His breathing was shallow but he managed to open his eyes a little when he heard Ginny calling out his name.

"...Cult..." Duerre gasped weakly, choking on his own blood. "..danger...Ra...Radvorris...," he continued as his life slipped away, every word bringing him closer to the eternal darkness.

"You mean Radvorris is in there?" Ginny asked. "Then I'm going in to aid him!"

Duerre's eyes opened wide at Ginny's remarks and he started to shake his head. With the last of his strength he grabbed Ginny's hand and opened his mouth again to speak. The warning never came. Duerre passed before he could utter anything. Ginny slid her hand over Duerre's face to close his eyes.

"Rest my friend," she said. "You will be avenged. I swear it!" She then lay Duerre gently back on the ground. She mounted her horse again and continued towards the ominous tower in the distance.

After what seemed like an eternity Cassie finally broke through the forest and into the clearing. Almost immediately Cassie could feel the presence of some dark magic around the place. The source seemed to be coming from the tower ruins in the distance. Cassie was sure that's where Ginny would be. She prodded her horse towards the tower. About halfway there she came across Duerre's remains. Her concern for Ginny's safety went up a notch. It's no small feat to fight on an even footing with a demon hunter, much less be able to kill one. Cassie prodded her horse to make it go faster.

When she finally came up to the tower, she could see Ginny's horse tied to a tree nearby. She quickly did the same and rushed to the entrance of the ruined tower. The broken sign near the door said, 'Tower of Light'.

Cassie moved quickly but cautiously inside. It was still and dark. She could not hear anything. Cassie took her pouch and opened it to take out her magical source. When she opened the pouch she was startled to see a faint light coming from inside the pouch. Looking into the pouch, Cassie saw that the gem on the locket her mother gave her was glowing faintly.

"Damn! Why does this has to glow now of all times?" Cassie thought. Is what her mother told her true? Will she really find her father's murderer? Or what? Cassie shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. Now is not the time to worry about the past. She forced herself to focus on finding Ginny. She pushed the locket back into the pouch and fished out her magical source.

Presently she came to the basement of the tower. In the basement, there was a huge ornate door, now broken and decrepit, with stairs leading further undergound. As Cassie moved towards the start of the steps, she could feel the dark magic's presence getting stronger.

"If I trace this magic to its source, I'm sure I will find Ginny there!" Cassie thought. With that resolve, she headed down the stairs into the dark. As Cassie made her way down she realized that the underground structure is vast. She had already passed corridors after corridors, halls after halls and still the structure streched ever onwards and downwards. If it weren't for her zooming in onto the source of the dark magic that she felt, she would have easily gotten lost inside the labyrinthine structure.

Preferring to remain stealthy, Cassie avoided any unnecessary conflicts but she has yet to meet anyone else, neither friend nor foe. She could feel the source of the dark magic getting nearer. As she made her way down yet another flight of stairs, she finally saw signs of another person. Inside a room a short distance in front of her, Cassie saw a faint light coming from inside. Remaining hidden she cautiously approached and peeked inside. The light was coming from another room inside the one she was peering into. Seeing no one around she sneaked in and found a place to hide while observing the area.

Cassie could see someone inside the other room. As her eyes adjusted, she saw that it was a man. He was dressed in a demon hunter's armor. Cassie wondered if he was a friend of the dead demon hunter she encountered before entering the tower. Deciding that this man probably had some connection with the dead demon hunter, Cassie moved to put away her magical source as not to appear threatening. Just as she opened her pouch a bright light burst through from inside. This caught the attention of the demon hunter inside the other room. He whipped out a longbow and aimed it straight where Cassie was hiding.

"Who's there?" the man asked cautiously, arrow prepped for release.

Wincing, Cassie had no choice but to reveal herself. Holding both her hands up in the air, she slowly stepped out so that the demon hunter could see her.

"I'm sorry for intruding but I saw your dead friend out there and I thought someone in here might be having some trouble," Cassie said just loud enough to be heard.

The other demon hunter approached and Cassie could see that he was an older man, probably in his fifties. He lowered his bow but kept alert.

"Was there anyone else with you?" he asked.

Cassie was puzzled by the question. It meant that he probably had not run into Ginny yet. She decided to play it safe. "No," Cassie replied. "I came in here alone."

"That light just now," the demon hunter said. "Where did it come from?"

"It's from a gem that I had," Cassie said, getting even more puzzled.

The demon hunter than shouldered his bow and reached inside a bag he had. Taking something out, he held out his hand and slowly opened his palm. To Cassie's astonishment, a light came through and it was coming from a gem he held. It was glowing brightly.

"Mind if I see your glowing gem?" he asked.

Cassie was taken aback. The demon hunter was holding the broken other part of her locket's gem. She stood there frozen.

"Please," the demon hunter said again. "Could you show me your glowing gem?"

Recovering from her shock, Cassie fumbled for her pouch, pulled out the locket and held it out. It was glowing just as brightly.

"It's an exact match!" the demon hunter exclaimed. "How did you get hold of Brianna's locket?" he asked, his eyes searching for an answer in desperation.

Cassie was even more stunned. "How.. how did you know my mother's name?"

"Your mother?" the demon hunter said, just as surprised. "Brianna's your mother? Where is she now?"

"She's been dead for over a decade! What's it to you?" Cassie asked, unsure of how else to re-act.

"Dead? So she's not forgiven me," the demon hunter said hanging his head, looking defeated. "That's why she left so abruptly. She left eventhough she was pregnant with our child."

Cassie's shock led her to drop the locket and back away until she hit the wall. "No.. no.. it can't be..." she muttered, her eyes aimlessly searching the floor. She then looked up to find the demon hunter looking at her with just as much confusion. Could this man really be her father?

The last half hour was a complete blur for Cassie. She could not make head or tail of what has been happening. She was now absent mindedly examining the locket. The two broken pieces has been put back together. They fit perfectly. Apart from the line where the crack was, the gem now filled the locket. It was strange that now that they are fitted side by side, the gem no longer glowed. Millions of questions were running through Cassie's mind. Was she dreaming? Could this really be happening? Here she was having come face to face with a man that most likely is her father but why was it that her mother told her a different story?

She was now alone in the room. The demon hunter had told her to stay there and wait for him. He had some unfinished business to attend to and that she would be safe in that room. Cassie let out a sigh. She did not know what to think. Then it occured to her that in the confusion of the moment, she had completely forgotten to ask him his name was. Cassie mentally chastised herself for her stupidity and then got up. She would go look for him and then ask him his name. She should at least know his name.

Wandering out from the room Cassie came face to face with the huge underground complex. She had forgotten how big this place was. Since loitering in the room will do nothing but put more questions to which she will not have any answers into her mind, Cassie decided to look for the demon hunter nonetheless.

Presently she came to a large multi-story chamber. It was dimly lit by a few torches on the lowest floor. She was on the second floor. While searching for a way to descend, Cassie suddenly caught sight of the demon hunter below. Just as she was about to call out to him, another figure appeared. This second figure was dressed like a cultist. Immediately Cassie knew that this person was bad news. Before she could sound a warning, the cultist spoke.

"High Priest," the cultist called out. Cassie quickly stood back into the shadows to conceal herself.

The demon hunter turned to the cultist and said, "What is it?"

Cassie's eyes widened in shock. High priest? What priest? What exactly was the connection between the two men?

"We have located her," the cultist said.

"When?" the demon hunter asked.

"About a half hour ago. We are leading her here. Everything is prepared," the cultist finished his report.

"Good. Go to the ceremony chambers and start the ritual now. I will be coming shortly and we shall make history tonight," the demon hunter said.

Cassie could not believe what she was hearing. Her head spinned all the more. What is the meaning of all this? She decided that it was best that she remain hidden and find out as much as possible as to what is happening. As she trailed the demon hunter she was once again aware of the presence of the dark magic she had felt earlier. Only now, it was much stronger than before. The demon hunter made his way into a side room. Cassie found her way down and quietly slipped into the same room.

The demon hunter had his back towards Cassie. He was busy with some kind of box. As he opened it, he took out something from it. The moment Cassie laid her eyes upon the object, she knew she could not stay hidden anymore. Quick as she could, Cassie fired an arcane bolt towards the demon hunter. The older man was caught by surprise but years and years of experience made him re-act in an instant. He vaulted quickly to one side. The arcane bolt missed its target but it made him drop the object he was holding.

Cassie dashed forward and picked the crystal up from the floor. She kept a wary eye on the demon hunter who had by now armed himself. Cassie kept a hand pointed towards the older man, her palm crackling with electricity.

"What the hell are you doing with a soulstone?" Cassie asked, her voice stern.

"Cassie?" the demon hunter asked. "Why are you here? I told you to stay in the room."

"Don't change the subject!" Cassie raised her voice. "What are you doing with a soulstone?" she demanded again.

"Why, I'm going to destroy it, of course!" he replied.

"Enough with the lies! I saw you with that cultist. What's your connection to the cult?" Cassie demanded, threatening to unleash the electric bolt at him.

"Cassie, you don't understand," the demon hunter pleaded. "It's not what you are thinking. Yes. It's a soulstone and it's Mephisto's soulstone if you must know. But I'm not here to free him. I'm here to tap into his powers so that we can defeat the lords of hell using their own powers! It's what I have been telling Brianna all along. Now I have finally found a way to do it!"

"You're out of your mind!" Cassie almost screamed. She could not believe what she was hearing. She understood now why her mother had said what she said. So it's confirmed now that this man in front of her is her father but he is lost. Lost to his own delusions. That explained her mother's sadness and her mother was right, she has to put an end to it. Before she could do anything an unexpected person came into the room.

"Cassie? Radvorris?" Ginny asked surprised by the scene in front of her. "What's going on?"

"Ginny!" Radvorris quickly called out. "Quick! Disable her! The soulstone has clouded her mind!"

Ginny eyes widened when she saw the soulstone in Cassie's hand. She brought her crossbow to bear.

"No! It's not me that's corrupted! It's him!" Cassie rebutted. That statement caused Ginny to pause.

"Don't listen to her!" Radvorris exclaimed. "It's Mephisto talking! Shoot!"

"Ginny, no! After all that we've gone through, do you not trust me?" Cassie said.

Ginny's finger tightened on the trigger but she's still unsure if she should pull. Seeing that her friend is torn, Cassie decided to act. She unleashed the electric bolt at Radvorris. Re-acting on reflex, Ginny fired. A bola shot rocketed towards Cassie and wrapped itself around her legs. Radvorris vaulted and dodged his electrocution. The bola shot exploded and Cassie crashed to the floor and became still.

Ginny quickly rushed to Cassie's side and checked her. She released a breath of relief after finding out that Cassie was only knocked unconscious and was not seriously hurt. Ginny then retrieved the soulstone from the floor.

"So this is what the cultists were after," Ginny said.

"Yes," Radvorris replied as he stood beside Ginny. "Now that we have it, it's time to finish this mission."

"I know where they are," Ginny said. She pocketed the soulstone and started to leave the room.

Just as she was about to walk out the doorway, she felt a heavy blow to the back of her head. The room spun and her vision started to cloud. As she fell to the floor, she saw Radvorris holding a club in his hands. She remembered that Radvorris was behind her. Then all fell into darkness.

Once Ginny was knocked out, Radvorris called out for his cultist to come and take her away. "Prepare her for the ritual," he ordered and then changed into a cultist's robe.

Ginny's head throbbed. She struggled to clear her mind. She then found out that she was unable to move. Both her hands and legs were bound. Slowly she opened her eyes. A dim orange glow filled her sight. Then she heard chanting. A cold breeze swept through and she felt the wind on her skin. That was when she realized that she was without any clothes.

As she focussed, she could see that she was tied in an upright position onto a crucifix. A few steps in front of her was a large vat set into the floor. There was a thick liquid in the vat and the putrid smell emanating from it told Ginny that it was blood. Her bare feet was touching a cold surface. It was marble. From her feet, a small niche ran a line towards the large vat of blood. Surrounding the vat were dozens of cultists in a circle. All of them seemed to be in a trance and chanting. Ginny realized that she was bound on a sacrificial altar. Ginny struggled against her bonds. It was no use. She could not free herself.

"Don't struggle. You won't be able to free yourself," she heard Radvorris' voice from behind her. He then stepped in front of Ginny.

"You!" Ginny spat in disgust. "Of all the people, why does it have to be you! I trusted you! You are supposed to be vanquishing demons, not joining them!"

"Ginny dear, you've got it all wrong," Radvorris said calmly. "I'm not joining them. I'm merely using their powers against their own kind. I shall have the power of a lord of the burning hells and with that I can defeat any demons that dare show their face here!"

"How? By unleashing one? This is madness! Stop it now!" Ginny tried to reason. "You yourself have seen firsthand what happened to the dark wanderer. There's no way you can hope to contain the evil!"

"That's where you're wrong," Radvorris countered. "It's not by chance that I chose Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. We demon hunters have dedicated our lives to controlling and using hatred to fight. We have fine tuned it down to an art. It's in our nature. Hatred fuels us. It's what makes us strong. Mephisto will only enhance my powers!"

"You are out of your mind!" Ginny yelled. "Even if you could control Mephisto it does not justify your massacre of a whole village!"

"To achieve great things, sacrifices are necessary," Radvorris replied. "The sacrifice of a few to save many. It's justified. Now, it's your turn to sacrifice for the good of the many," he continued and drew an ornate sacrificial dagger from his robes. "I've waited 20 years for this. Now the moment of my victory is at hand."

"Why? Why wait 20 years when you could have done the same back then? Why keep me alive when you've massacred all from my village?" Ginny asked, her heart pounding. She was near panic and there's little she could do bound up like this. She can only hope to stall him. Hopefully Cassie will wake in time to come to her aid. She regretted firing the shot at Cassie earlier. She should have trusted her. Ginny could only hope that she had not sealed her own fate.

"20 years ago, I did not succeed. I lacked one key ingredient," Radvorris said. "I was too naive then. I had spared you as I thought that you were too young back then. Little did I know that you are the key! You my dear, are the last of the Zakarum priests bloodline. It's your blood that will open the portal to the burning hells! To think that all this time I was searching for the key when it was right in front of me. The world works in such a mysterious way!"

Cassie shook her head to clear it. She pushed herself up from the floor. She was aching all over but she had to get to her feet. When she got up, she found that she was alone. Neither Ginny nor Radvorris was in sight. Then she felt it. The dark magic. It's presence was almost overwhelming. Cassie forced herself to move. She has to get to the source of it. There, she will find Ginny and Radvorris. She knew that Ginny was in grave danger and she had to get to her fast.

Racing through the complex, Cassie finally approached the source of the dark magic. In front of her, a light was coming from a chamber. She could hear the chanting inside. As she neared she could see the huge number of cultists gathered there. All of them are fixated at a small raised dias in the center of the chamber. There tied to a crucifix was Ginny. She was bare and standing in front of her was Radvorris, now in a cultist robe and a dagger in his hand. Cassie realized that Radvorris is about to perform a sacrifice and the sacrificial lamb was none other than Ginny. Cassie quickly recited a spell and activated it. Her skin began to crystalize and she morphed into a living crystal statue - the diamond skin spell. It would render her invulnerable for a very brief period of time. She hoped that in that time, she would be able to break through the ranks of cultist surrounding Ginny, reach her and somehow rescue her.

As she burst into the chamber, Cassie unleashed a barrage from her spectral blade spell. Blades made of arcane energy slashed out in front of Cassie. That attack dropped half a dozen cultists in front of her. It also alerted Radvorris to her presence. The cultists also re-acted, apart from the ones nearest to the dias, the rest of them broke from their chants and began to converge on Cassie drawing their weapons.

"Keep her at bay!" Radvorris ordered. "I need but a few seconds to complete this!" At the command, three of the cultists summoned forth the spirits of hell and transformed themselves into Dark Thralls and advanced on Cassie.

"Cassie!" Ginny called out. "Run! Get out of here! Tell the Demon Hunters that Radvorris had turned rogue! He's planning to unleash Mephisto!"

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Cassie yelled back unleashing barrage after barrage of her spectral blade attacks. It seemed that for every cultist that fell, three more would take his place. She was woefully outnumbered. What's worse the Dark Thralls are approaching fast. Cassie stretched her hands out in front of her. She knew that the diamond skin armor will not last long and she had to break through the waves of cultists fast. Cassie aimed her hands at the incoming thralls and unleashed an orange beam of energy that cuts through everything. The beam sliced through the bodies of the thralls and cultists alike. Anything caught in it simply disintegrated.

Just as Cassie managed to clear a path to the middle of the the chamber, Radvorris plunged the dagger into Ginny's chest.

"Kyaaaaa!" Ginny screamed in agony as the dagger dug deep into her chest and she became motionless.

"No!" Cassie screamed, horrified that she was too late. The shock froze Cassie in her tracks and almost at once she was being held down by the cultists that swarmed around her.

Radvorris pulled the dagger out and blood began bleeding out of the wound. It trickled down Ginny's limp body to her legs and into the niche, following it to the vat. As it reached the vat, a small explosion was heard and a portal to the burning hells began to open up.

"Yes! It's working!" Radvorris exclaimed in ecstasy. He quickly recited a chant and tendrils of energy began streaming forth from the portal's opening and embedding themselves into Radvorris.

"Arrgghh! Yes! I can feel the power!" Radvorris roared. "Yes! Yes!"

"No!" Cassie screamed again. Her diamond skin spell dissipated but Cassie recited another spell and arcane energy began coursing through her body. The energy burst forth and threw the cultists clear off her as she transformed into a being of pure energy - the archon. Cassie levitated off the ground and floated towards Radvorris who was absorbing all the hellish energy from the opened portal. As suddenly as the portal opened, it closed and Radvorris' source of energy was abruptly cut off.

"What?!" Radvorris yelled out in surprise. "The portal cannot be sustained?" He then cast an enraged look at Ginny's limp body. "The sacrificial blood is impure!" he yelled out anger. "No matter! I've got more than enough of Mephisto's power!" With that his eyes started to glow red. He began to transform. His hands turned into claws that are razor sharp and bony spikes began protruding from his spine.

Cassie closed the distance between her and Radvorris and fired a disintegration beam at him. Radvorris held out his palm to meet it. The beam hit but instead of disintegrating, Radvorris merely absorbed the beam.

"Hahahaha!" Radvorris laughed maniacally. "Do you think you can stop me with that?" He then slashed out at Cassie with his other hand. The claws ripped right through Cassie's archon energy and broke the spell. Cassie morphed back into flesh and blood and the claw ripped a gash at Cassie's waist. The blow caused Cassie to drop onto the floor at Ginny's feet. It also sapped most of Cassie's arcane energy. Radvorris' power was incredible. Not only was he able to withstand a disintegration beam, he could also hit and cause enough magical damage to break Cassie's archon spell. Cassie knew that she was absolutely no match for Radvorris.

Radvorris raised his claws for another strike at Cassie. He knew that she have no fight left in her. "Why? Why do you defy me?" Radvorris roared at Cassie, his voice filled with disappointment and hatred. "Like your mother, you too had no faith in me! I made all this sacrifice for the betterment of all mankind! All I ask in return was for a little love and understanding but she left me! And now, you too defy me! Die now!" Radvorris prepared to slash down onto Cassie in a killing blow. Just as he was about to strike a voice called out:

"Radvorris," a female voice came from behind Radvorris. "Come my love. Let's leave this place and live happily together."

Radvorris froze. He then turned slowly. There hovering over the vat of blood was a fiery apparition of a female figure. Moments before, as Cassie crashed onto the floor, the locket that was in the now ripped opened pouch fell out and scattered across the floor. It skittered and skip across the hard floor until it finally dropped into the vat of blood. A tongue of flame shot out from the vat, burning fiercely. After a few seconds the flames formed a female human figure. Both Cassie and Radvorris, caught up in the heat of battle, were not aware of this event. Now both Radvorris and Cassie stared incredulously at the fiery apparition.

"Brianna?" Radvorris asked. "Is that you?"

"Mom?" Cassie blurted.

"Yes, dearest Radvorris," the apparition continued. "It is I. Come with me and let us lead a happy life together."

"You.. you've finally forgiven me?" Radvorris asked as he stepped slowly nearer to the apparition.

"Yes. I forgive you. Now come to me," the apparition urged again. Radvorris stepped ever closer until he was standing just next to the fiery apparition. The apparition held its hands open and Radvorris walked right into it. As the fire engulfed Radvorris, another burst of flame sprouted from the vat and rose until it hit the ceiling. Then it disappeared, taking Radvorris with it.

Cassie had to force herself to act despite her confusion about what had actually taken place. She quickly checked on Ginny. She was hurt bad but she was still breathing. Looking at the still bleeding wound, Cassie knew if she did not get Ginny immediate medical aid, she will not make it. Cassie quickly untied Ginny and embraced her.

"Hang in there Ginny!" Cassie pleaded. "You can't just leave me like this! I won't allow you to die!" Cassie then summoned all of her remaining arcane energy and concentrated them into one teleport spell. Cassie will use up all of her arcane energy to attempt to teleport herself and Ginny to the last populated town that they had been through on the way here.

"I will save you or die trying!" Cassie said and started the teleport spell. Once she finished reciting the spell, both she and Ginny vanished from the chambers in a flash of light.

Cassie finally started to regain consciousness. She did not know how long it had been. She felt that she was drifting in an endless dark void and a dot of light appeared. She followed it and her eyes started to show a room. It was daylight again. Memories of the events in the tower flashed back and Cassie sat upright in a start. Her head started to spin and she felt dizzy and weak and collapsed back onto the bed.

"Whoa.. easy there," a strange voice came.

Cassie opened her eyes again and found herself looking into the face of a kindly old woman. She was smiling at her and tucking her back into bed. "Take it easy. You are hurt and should not be out of bed yet," she continued.

"Where's Ginny?" Cassie asked.

"You're referring to your friend I suppose," the old lady replied. Cassie just nodded.

"She was hurt pretty bad you know. The healer did all he could for her," the old lady continued and Cassie's heart sank at the comment. Tears started to well in her eyes. "Only time will tell if she will survive. She's still unconscious in the next room," the old lady finished.

Cassie let her tears flow and she cried. She felt relieved that Ginny was still alive and let her emotions flush out through her sobs and tears. She cried until she could not cry anymore.

Later in the day, Cassie went into Ginny's room. She laid there on the bed, her skin paler than Cassie had ever seen it. She looked fragile but her breathing was steady although shallow. Ginny was a fighter and Cassie knew that she will not give up easily. Cassie sat on the edge of her bed and took Ginny's hand into hers, cradling it gently.

"Thank God you're alive," Cassie said softly. "I wouldn't know what to do if you're gone."

A small tear formed at the corner of Ginny's eye, rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow unnoticed by Cassie.

No Light Without Darkness

THE END


End file.
